aisalabad’s forgotten built heritage is a tale of neglect and decay. Despite its rich history and cultural significance, the city’s colonial-era architecture and landmarks are being ravaged by neglect, demolition and apathy, threatening to erase its identity forever.

The city was built in 1896 on 110 acres of land. It was initially planned to house 20,000 people. A colonial officer, Captain Poham Young, in collaboration with the famous town planner Sir Ganga Ram, designed the city on the pattern of the Union Jack. From the centre, where a grand Clock Tower stands, eight roads radiate outward, forming what are now known as eight distinct bazaars. This unique layout was carefully designed so that the Clock Tower remained visible from the far end of each bazaar. Even today, the radial design of these avenues, converging through a circular market towards the Clock Tower, continues to amaze visitors.

These bazaars not only form the largest commercial and business hub of the city, but are also rich with historical and cultural imprints. Unfortunately, due to years of neglect and poor preservation, much of this cultural heritage has been lost.

Many old structures have been demolished and replaced with commercial plazas. For instance, the historic Zail Ghar building at the entrance of Katchery Bazaar, once a hostel for district municipal members, later housed newspaper offices and warehouses. The over-a-century-old Central Cooperative Bank building, with its deteriorating structure and fading signboard, is in dire need of preservation.

Iconic landmarks such as the ancestral home of the legendary qawwal Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in Jhang Bazaar and the city’s first public library located inside the Muslim League House in Montgomery Bazaar, have already disappeared. Dozens of other historical buildings have either been buried beneath towering commercial plazas or repurposed into shops and warehouses, erasing the city’s tangible history.

Even the Clock Tower, the most recognisable landmark of Faisalabad, has long awaited proper restoration. Its once-proud clock mechanism has remained silent for years.

In Faisalabad’s historic Jhang Bazaar, tucked away in a narrow street known as Madrasay Wali Gali, stands the ancestral haveli of Teji Bachchan, mother of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan. The two-storey building, still retains much of its original structure. However, the grandeur of this once-stately residence has long been overshadowed by the clatter of metal utensils sold in the shops established on the ground floor and the constant movement of labourers carrying goods in and out of the building, parts of which are now being used as stores.

Mahmood Ahmad, a resident of this area since the 1950s, shared his memories with TNS, recalling how his family had migrated to Faisalabad from Jalandhar, East Punjab.

“At that time, this was a beautiful, peaceful neighbourhood,” he said. “There used to be a lush garden surrounded by homes. It was calm, without the constant crowds you see today. Sadly, that garden has now been taken over and turned into a parking lot. From morning till late at night, there’s nothing but chaos.”

He added, with a touch of melancholy, that the area had changed so drastically that if Teji Bachchan were to return, she might not recognise it.

Mahmood Ahmad’s words are no exaggeration. A city, originally designed under British colonial rule to accommodate 20,000 residents and meet their needs, now holds well over 20,000 shops and offices in this commercial zone alone. Every day, an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people pass through this area for work and business.

According to the Faisalabad Development Authority’s Peri-Urban Structure Plan (2015), at one time, the eight bazaars radiating from the Clock Tower area collectively hosted 18,511 cars, 41,516 motorcycles and 11,487 bicycles parked during business hours. According to the 2021 Faisalabad Master Plan, vehicle registrations in the city are growing at an annual rate of 13 per cent. This means that, by now, the number of cars and motorcycles parked daily around the Clock Tower’s eight bazaars has surged to an estimated 42,575 cars and 95,486 motorcycles, a staggering increase that has brought immense congestion and noise to what was once a peaceful colonial-era neighbourhood.

To address this growing problem, the district administration launched a plan on January 13, 2025, to declare the eight bazaars surrounding the Clock Tower a ‘vehicle-free zone.’ In an emergency press conference, Deputy Commissioner Nadeem Nasir emphasised that the Clock Tower and its adjoining bazaars are not only the city’s commercial hub but also an important part of our cultural heritage and that protecting those is a shared responsibility.

He claimed that this would become the country’s first vehicle-free market, offering pedestrians a safe and pleasant shopping experience along with recreational opportunities. According to the plan, adequate parking spaces will be provided next to each bazaar for both shoppers and shopkeepers. Additionally, street vendors and carts will be relocated to nearby roadside markets, with free electricity provided to those locations.

The deputy commissioner also announced that specific timings would be set for loading and unloading goods and those living within the bazaars would be given designated parking spaces. He further assured the public that both insured and free parking options would be available at the designated parking spots and a beautifully designed rickshaw shuttle service would be launched to transport shoppers to and from the bazaars.

However, more than three months later, the project has not been completed. On January 13, without prior notice or public announcement, the eight bazaars around the Clock Tower were suddenly closed off by parking trucks and placing barriers at their entrances, blocking all vehicular traffic. Within a few weeks, under alleged pressure from traders, the restrictions were quietly lifted and loader rickshaws, motorcycles and vehicles were once again allowed to enter the bazaars.

So far, no concrete steps have been taken to preserve the area’s historic buildings and cultural heritage. In fact, traffic congestion in the narrow streets and surrounding areas of the Clock Tower and the eight bazaars has further worsened.

The only significant attempt to preserve Faisalabad’s cultural heritage was made in 2014 by the then-district coordination officer, Nurul Amin Mengal. He had started restoration work on more than 45 historical buildings, built between 1901 and 1937, by establishing the Lyallpur Heritage Foundation. After his transfer in 2016, progress on the project stalled.

The buildings identified as cultural heritage at that time include Lyallpur House, Clock Tower, Kaisari Gate, Gumti, Allama Iqbal Library, Bagh-i-Jinnah Monument, Agriculture College, APWA Centre, Old Block of GC University, Govt Sabria Sarajia High School, Mandir Seeta Ram, Gurdwara Pakistan Model High School, Kachehri Bazaar Mosque, Catholic Church in Rail Bazaar, Arya Samaj Temple, St Peter’s Church opposite Chenab Club, Sanatan Dharam Library (demolished two years ago), Health Office, Darul Uloom Abdullahpur, Noor Shah Wali’s shrine, Qila Gift Building, District Jail, Muslim High School, Railway Station, Railway Hospital, Old Circuit House inside Agriculture University, residence of assistant commissioner, TB Hospital, Women Hospital, Old District Kutchery Building and the Old Chenab Club Building.

The Irrigation Department office compound includes the old Telegraph Office building, Sandal Bar Police Station, Gora Qabristan, Khalsa College Abdullahpur, Green Elevator, the old office of the Irrigation Department, the CPO office and the District Council building.

Apart from these, Bhagat Singh’s native village, Bangay; Sir Ganga Ram’s native village, Gangapur; Mirza Sahib’s village, Danaabad; Ahmad Khan Kharal’s village, Jhamra and Khushpur, which is also called the Vatican City of Pakistan, have been declared historical villages.

Later in 2021, Noor-ul Amin Mengal, as provincial secretary for Local Government Department, launched another project called Dilkash Lyallpur, aimed at restoring five of Faisalabad’s most prominent heritage sites: Clock Tower, District Council, Allama Iqbal Library, Qaisery Gate and Gumti. The responsibility for this project was given to the Lahore Walled City Authority.

However, this project too remains incomplete. According to information obtained under the Right to Information Act from the Lahore Walled City Authority, Rs 113.5 million has been spent in the past three years to restore Qaisery Gate, Gumti and Gora Qabristan. Restoration work on Allama Iqbal Library is ongoing, but work on the Clock Tower has not started.

None of Faisalabad’s historic buildings are listed by the Department of Archaeology. Most of these buildings are under the control of Municipal Corporation, District Council and the Education Department. These institutions neither allocate funds for the preservation of these historic structures, nor accept responsibility for their upkeep.

The government’s recent initiatives to promote tourism through the restoration of historic and cultural sites have excluded Faisalabad’s landmarks altogether. Sadly, the city’s residents have also shown little concern for the preservation of their cultural heritage. The few individuals and groups trying to work for this cause face a lack of support from the government and the local administration.

The writer has been associated with journalism for the past decade. He tweets@naeemahmad876